finance

The UK’s impending historic withdrawal from the European Union (EU) is opening new opportunities for advancing the position of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as an economic powerhouse, casting the spotlight on the strong bilateral trade ties between the GCC region and the European island nation, according to a new report titled ‘UK’s EU Referendum: Why ‘Brexit’ Matters to the GCC.’

The Trump effect is a speculative bubble, and as with all bubbles, it will finally burst when investors realise that the new President is unable to keep his promises. Until now, the most visible immediate effect of his victory has been the rise in interest rates (+50 basis points on US 10-year bond yield since November 8th). Investors have already anticipated that Trump's economic policy will be inflationist. However, market complacency is unjustified in view of the protectionist policies reaffirmed by the new President in his inaugural speech ("We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs"..."Buy American and hire American"). The return to reality could well be brutal for investors, as within a globalised world, protectionism will be economically costly for a country putting it into practice on a large scale.

Al Ghurair International Exchange, the UAE-based foreign exchange and worldwide Money Transfer Company, announced its reach to over billions of bank accounts by joining hands with Western Union’s account payout service which connects cross border consumers and eases the account credit facility with its fast, secure, reliable and vast global reach.

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 61.1 million units in the second quarter of 2017, a 4.3 percent decline from the second quarter of 2016, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. The PC industry is in the midst of a 5 year slump, and this is the 11th straight quarter of declining shipments. Shipments in the second quarter of this year were the lowest quarter volume since 2007.

Research by Fisch Asset Management, one of the world’s leading credit analysis and convertible bond specialists, has shown a clear slow-down across GCC money markets, with softening prices resulting from continued macro-economic uncertainty. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain have all suffered ratings downgrades since 2015. Meanwhile, Qatar and Bahrain have shown greater resilience.

The greatest trades are those that take advantage of mispriced assets and illiquidity. As we head into 2017’s second quarter, it increasingly appears as if the European instability narrative may be overblown as the continent prepares to outperform a shaky, “Trump trade”-dependent US.

Siniora Food Industries, a pioneer in the manufacturing of cold cuts, frozen meat and luncheon, announced its results for the first half of 2017. The results showed that Siniora achieved net profit of JOD 1.926 million (USD 2.7 million), a growth of 36% compared with the same period of 2016, while total revenues grew by 16% over the same period of 2016, and amounted to JOD 27.5 million (USD 38.8 million) in the first half of 2017.

A new double tax agreement (DTA) between the UK and UAE, which goes live this week, has a surprising benefit that allows UAE residents to access their UK pension free of UK income tax, according to an expert at Old Mutual Wealth.

aafaq Education L.C.C is a private company specialized in managing and investing in educational institutions recently entered into a strategic partnership with the University College of Bahrain to offer an Executive Master’s Degree in Islamic Finance in the UAE. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Dr. Mahmoud Abdalaal, CEO of aafaq Islamic Finance, and Dr. Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Founder and Chairman of Board of Trustees at University College of Bahrain, in the presence of senior officials and managers from both parties.

aafaq Islamic Finance, a leading provider of Islamic finance products and services in the UAE, has introduced a new medical equipment financing product specifically tailored for the country’s small & medium enterprise (SME) market. The fully Shari’a-compliant product will be offered to doctors, dentists, diagnostic centers, hospitals, nursing homes, and other key health service providers. aafaq will use all available Islamic finance tools, to fund the needs of the healthcare sector’s experts.

‘Al Masah Capital Limited’, one of the region’s leading alternative investment and asset management firms, has announced the rebranding of its healthcare private equity initiative, ‘Healthcare MENA Limited’ (HML), to ‘AVIVO GROUP’.

The Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) and the International Centre of Islamic Economy (ICIE) have finished preparations for the kickoff of the ‘International Innovative Platform for Islamic Economy Products 2015’ (IIPIEP 2015) which will take place from November 22 to 23, 2015. The event is supported by the platform’s strategic partner Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), and a number of prominent sponsors and are presented by National Commercial Bank (NCB), National Bonds Corporation, and the Saudi diversified manufacturing company SABIC. The two-day event will be held in conjunction with UAE Innovation Week that comes as a celebration of innovation in the UAE, in line with the directives of the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to mark 2015 as the “Year of Innovation.” The UAE Innovation Week which was launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, will be organised from 22-28 November, and will serve as a definitive platform and destination for innovation and innovators in the region.

In many industrial companies, services play virtually no role. Yet the service business is reporting growth rates up to 40 percent faster than sales of new products. What's more, the gross profit margin of services is on average a good ten percentage points higher. These are the conclusions from international management consultants Bain & Company in their latest study, “Winning in Industrial Services,” in which 45 industrial companies underwent an in-depth benchmarking analysis.

In line with the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the Capital of the Islamic Economy, the “aafaq Center for Research in Islamic Economy” will launch the first ‘Islamic Finance Encyclopedia’ and ‘Islamic Finance Directory’ in Arabic, at the 2015 Global Islamic Economic Summit taking place from October 5 to 6, 2015 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

aafaq Islamic Finance, a leading provider of Islamic finance products and services in the UAE, has been conferred with the Business Excellence Award under the ‘Dubai Service Excellence Scheme’ category. The award ceremony was hosted by Dubai’s Department of Economic Department (DED), the government body entrusted to set and drive the emirate’s economic agenda, to benchmark quality and excellence for stronger business growth. The company received the ‘Best Service Performance Outlet Award’ for its Altwar center and Al Fujairah outlets. Aafaq recently launched the award-wining ‘Happy Customer’ initiative to ensure that each patron receives exceptional service for an unforgettable customer experience.

Institute of Finance & Management subsidiary of aafaq Islamic Finance, a leading provider of Islamic finance products and services in the UAE, has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Bolton’s Centre for Islamic Finance, an initiative designed to facilitate research and promote the understanding of Islamic Finance through lectures, conferences and a joint professional certificate in Islamic Banking. The document was signed in London.

JLL, the world's leading real estate investment and advisory firm, today has released its Q2 2016 Dubai Real Estate Q2 Overview report that evaluates the impact of Britain’s exit from the European Union on the Dubai Real Estate Market across office, residential, retail and hotel sectors. Dubai caters to the most open real estate market within the region and as a result is more susceptible to external factors. As Brexit brings slight uncertainty into the market, it was noted that in Q2 2016 rent values continue to face a downward slope in the office and residential sectors.

Drake & Scull International PJSC (DSI), a regional market leader in the integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines of General Contracting, Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP), Water and Power, Rail, and Oil and Gas, and wastewater treatment, announced today that it has mandated Emirates NBD Capital and HSBC as Joint Global Coordinators, and Al Hilal Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank as Joint Lead Managers to arrange a series of fixed income investor meetings in the Middle East and Europe commencing on the 4th June 2015. An unrated USD Regulation S Senior Perpetual Sukuk offering may follow subject to market conditions.